While I just missed the Pokemon craze when I was younger (#old, although the kids I babysat were into it), I’ve definitely gotten caught up in the cultural phenomena that is Pokemon Go. It’s been so fun to play with my kids – even though their aim sucks and they waste all my pokeballs! – and I fight my army of Vaporeons at the public library gym. Mostly I’ve enjoyed going on peaceful walks at night, catching dem Pidgeys and listening to Last Podcast on the Left or my The 1975 Spotify station. I had kind of a rough early part to the year, but somehow this weird little routine really contributed to clearing my mind and lifting my mood.
Zubat inspired this recipe; I love that creepy flappy fangy little guy! Catherine at The Gluttonous Geek joked that she was the only one so far twisted enough to make a play on actually cooking the little creatures. I laughed to myself because oh yeah, I’m going there too! These BBQ wings have the wing and drumette intact to look battier, and the Asian-inspired blackberry BBQ sauce is both sweet and spicy and zubat-tinged purple. With a garlicky buttermilk dipping sauce, they turned into a dish we could really sink our teeth into.
🎵 I wanna be the spookiest
Flap around, drink some blood and train,
Sunlight is my real test
But at night, feel my Poison Fang! 🎵
Zubat Wings
Ingredients
- 3 pounds chicken wings wings and drumettes intact (you could of course do them split apart, just slightly lessen the cooking time)
- salt & pepper
- 2 cups blackberries
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 2 inches ginger grated
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 cloves garlic grated
- fresh ground black pepper about a teaspoon
- 1-2 tablespoons srirach (I left this out until I had dipped half the wings in order to make not-spicy wings for the kids)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°. Position a rack over a baking sheet and spray or rub with oil. Wash, dry, and season the wings liberally with salt and pepper, and arrange in a single layer on the baking sheet. Bake for 40 minutes or so, flipping once, until cooked through and golden.
- Meanwhile, prepare the bbq sauce. In a saucepan, bring chicken broth, blackberries, ginger and a sprinkle of salt to a boil, and simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring/smashing occasionally, until blackberries are completely broken down.
- While the blackberries are simmering, in a mixing bowl whisk together ketchup, honey, soy sauce, garlic, pepper, and sriracha (if you are doing a split batch like I did, wait until after you dip half the wings to add the sriracha). Strain the blackberry mixture through a mesh strainer into the ketchup mixture, pressing to get most of the liquid out, whisk everything together and return to the sauce pan. Simmer another 15-20 minutes until thick.
- When the wings are cooked, dip each in the bbq sauce and return to the rack, brushing a little more over the top. You can reserve the leftover sauce for another purpose. Bake another 5 minutes or so, then let cool slightly, garnish with green onions, and serve with garlicky buttermilk dipping sauce (below).
Garlicky Buttermilk Dipping Sauce
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 clove garlic grated
- coarse salt to taste about 1/2 a teaspoon
Instructions
- Whisk together all ingredients and serve!
More batty BBQ recipes:
- For another flavorful marinade, try Jerk Marinade.
- For a BBQ dry rub, try the spice mix from Heathers-inspired BBQ Corn Nuts
Originally posted for #PokeNOM month! Catherine at The Gluttonous Geek hosted this theme for Fandom Foodies. Her awesome pick sparked so many creative and delicious-looking recipes! Head over to the linkup, or look for #PokeNOM on social media to check them out – gotta eat ’em all!
Update, June 2019 The Cupcakedex is hosting #PokeNoms to celebrate Detective Pikachu!
